


Echoes

by TheWolfeAndTheRose



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Androids can recover lost memories shh, As in Kara's model isn't released till 2037 AU, Don't @ Me, F/M, Human Alice Williams (Detroit: Become Human), I mean it happened with Kara at Zlatko's place so, Mentions of resets, Ofc Alice is human why wouldn't she be, Slow burn at first then very fast, Some explicit language I mean have you even played this game, Very AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 16:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16178957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWolfeAndTheRose/pseuds/TheWolfeAndTheRose
Summary: Teaching an android to be a parental figure can be difficult. Because of this, the AX400 model was not released until 2037 after two years of work to perfect it. The original was owned by Elijah Kamski as he worked on her, alongside Chloe and another experimental prototype- the RK800, designed to work with law enforcement. Both of them were reset upon perfection. The former was mass-produced and sold off, and the original eventually found herself at the home of Todd Williams by November of 2038, a bargain purchase due to her being owned by so many. The latter, the RK800, was sent on his first mission in August of 2038, and something that happened on that mission set loose a chain of events no one could have foreseen. Memories, echoes of a distant past, began returning to him. When he met eyes with a deviant he was chasing, he couldn't help but wonder...Where had he seen her before?





	1. The Past: AX400 and RK800

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ensorcello](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ensorcello/gifts), [Cookiemonster2000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookiemonster2000/gifts).



> So this is kind of a complicated AU. In this AU, Kamski didn't entirely leave CyberLife- he worked on new models from time to time. And Kara's model wasn't released until 2037. Connor was completed in that year, but not sent out until 2038. Hope that makes sense.

Year: 2035

Darkness. That was the first thing that registered. The fuzzy blackness associated with closed eyes. Then beeping, machines humming, the hiss of air being released. Clicking of keys- someone typing into a computer.  _Wait_ , the consciousness wondered.  _How do I know that?_

Then a voice. A man. Soft, slow words.

"Open your eyes." He obeyed.  _He_. Somehow, he knew he was male.

First blinding light. Blinking several times. Then the world came into focus.

Walls and floors of sterile white. A clear glass barrier in front of him. A man seated behind a computer. He glanced up at him. "Hello. I'm assuming you can hear me?"

A nod.

"Good. You can move your head, too. Can you see me?"

He nodded again.

The man smiled. "Perfect. Say something, would you? Your introduction, perhaps?" The man tilted his head in a way that indicated it was an order rather than a request. (Social programming told him so.)

So, he obliged.

"I am the latest experimental CyberLife android. My model number is RK800. I am designed to work with law enforcement and related government operations. I can analyze evidence at a crime scene, from ballistics to DNA. I can access any person's records via facial recognition. I am programmed to be an ideal partner for a human officer. I speak 500 languages and can maintain a cover identity. Would you like to give me a name?"

The man frowned. His eyes traveled up and down the glass barrier, his brow furrowed in thought. "All right. RK800, register your name. From now on, I'll call you… Connor."

He nodded, repeated the necessary words that his programming dictated. "My name is Connor."

Then came other tests- movement of legs and arms, language capabilities. He was asked to view photos and identify faces. The other man talked to himself the entire time, entered things into his computer.

"All right," he said, once the tests were completed. "Skin is up."  
And it was- synthetic skin had now covered the white plating that was his body. "Clothes…" the man muttered to himself.

Before Connor realized what was happening, he found himself wearing a black suit, a white shirt, and a tie. "There we go. Okay, Connor, I'm gonna let you out now. We have some work to do before you can be sold."

"Sold?" Connor echoed. "I am… merchandise?"

"Well, yeah," the other man replied, getting up from his desk and striding over to the glass tube Connor was in. "You're just the latest of your kind- androids. Worth a fortune, too. After all, you're a near-perfect computer with a body. And you're programmed to solve crimes. That's something the United States government needs."

"Oh." Connor drew in a shuddering breath. He was… a computer? A  _machine_? He didn't feel like he was.

Were machines supposed to feel?

Then the man spoke up. "Something wrong, Connor?"

"I just… I thought…"

"You  _thought_ ," the man echoed. "That's new. Androids don't think when they're first assembled. Some of them wake up over time, but that's not supposed to happen. Neither is this." He sighed. "Well, I can't take you apart, I've only just finished you. Tell you what. Keep quiet. Don't talk about thinking. Do everything I say. Then maybe I can still work with you. Understand, Connor?"

He understood perfectly. He was to lie. Keep a secret- no one else could know that he thought. Or  _what_  he thought.

He thought he was alive.

Connor nodded. "I understand. May I ask a question?"

The other man stayed silent for a moment, thinking, then nodded. "Yes. You may."

"Am I… alive, sir?"

The man's eyes widened. "My God," he whispered. Then he shrugged.

"I'll let you decide."

The glass tube opened with a hiss. "Come on out." Connor followed the instruction, stepping out into the room. He felt the carpet beneath his feet, moved his toes to get used to the feeling. The man chuckled. "Come on, you need shoes."

Connor nodded, said, "Yes, sir," and trailed after the man. When they were in the doorway of the room, the man paused in front of him. "By the way, my name's Elijah. ElijahKamski. But you can just call me Elijah."

* * *

Elijah showed Connor around his house, telling him how to get around the place and where to go and not go. Then he led him to his office, talking the whole way there. "You saw the blonde girls, right? Well, they're also androids. My companions. Human company bores me. However, there's two androids I'd like to introduce you to- my assistants. One of them is my personal friend- she was the first android I ever created. The other is a housemaid- I'm trying to perfect her, like you."

Then the door to his office opened, and Connor found himself standing before two female androids- one was blonde and blue-eyed, wearing a short sleeveless dark blue dress with no shoes and had her hair in a ponytail. She was identical to the other androids he had met.  
The other was a brunette. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, with loose strands of hair tucked behind her ears. She wore a simple short-sleeved black dress with a white collar and waist tie. She had flat brown shoes on her feet, and a slight smile on her face.

"Hello, girls," Elijah said upon entering the room. "This is our newest guest. He's called Connor. Why don't you two introduce yourselves? You can go first," he said, nodding toward the blonde android.

She smiled. "I am Chloe."

Elijah smiled at that. "Okay. Now, why don't  _you_  come over here?" he said, beckoning to the other android. She moved towards them with quick, small steps. "I'm Kara," she said evenly. Elijah placed one hand on her shoulder.

"Wonderful, now you two know each other. Now, Connor, Kara here is an experiment, much like you. She's designed to be a housemaid, but also an expert at childcare. The perfect nanny, if you would. The childcare aspect is proving to be a rather difficult problem to tackle, though, I'm afraid. No offense to you, Kara," he said, smiling at her. Then he turned back to Connor.

"Connor, I have a job for you. You will be my right-hand man, as they say. I need someone to help me bridge the gap between human and android. What I mean is, humans need to understand what androids truly are. I don't think they do. They view them as computers in humanlike bodies. In reality, they're beings. Perfect with infinite intelligence, never growing old or wearing out, but still beings. Alive? Well, that remains to be seen. But while I am perfecting you, you will be placed in several scenarios designed to answer that question. Kara is under orders to assist you in any way that you need, so long as you both do as I ask." They both nodded at that.

"Well, then, let's get to work."

* * *

Tests. There were a lot of those. Simulations to perfect programming. Some of them Connor could barely stomach. From what Kara told him, she was placed in similar situations, though they were more specific to what she was being programmed to do. They were often left to their own devices once Elijah was done with them, and so turned to one another for company. Sometimes, Chloe would join in their conversations, but often they were alone together.

They did just as Elijah asked, performing in the simulations and tests, making public appearances in preparation for their release. Following orders like the machines they were supposed to be. But when all was said and done, they questioned things. Their existence, their purpose, why the simulations they were put in were so difficult for them to handle. Connor and Kara never talked about their alterations. They didn't want to admit just how often they were torn apart and put back together.

For two years, nothing changed. Then one day, Connor came into the testing room to find that Kara was gone. And for the first time in his life, Connor realized what fear really was.

"Elijah?" he said, trying to keep calm.

Elijah Kamski looked up from his computer. "Yes, Connor? Do you need something?"

"Where is Kara?" he asked, the moment Elijah stopped talking. Elijah raised an eyebrow at him. "She's being worked on. She's nearly been perfected."

"Oh." His response was flat. Of course, he'd known for his entire existence, almost, that this would happen one day. Hundreds of identical androids like her would be produced.

The real question was, what would happen to the original?

Connor's question was answered the following week. And not a day after, he found himself standing in the same glass tube where he had first asked if he was alive. He was restrained, told by Elijah that he was perfected, and would be reset.

For a moment, Connor was tempted to fight, to cry out. Then he realized that it was pointless, especially now. He'd never see Kara again, no matter what he did.

Elijah frowned at him. "You're not struggling. Strange."

"There's no point," he all but spat. "You'll reset me no matter what I do. Whether I fight or don't, I'll still have my memory erased."

"Hmm," Elijah murmured. "Does this have anything to do with…  _Kara_ , by any chance? You haven't been yourself since she left."

Before Connor could stop himself, he spat his next words at Elijah. "Don't you  _dare_  talk about her. Not after what you did."

Elijah's eyes widened. "Fascinating." Then he sighed. "Well, I would apologize, but I doubt you'd believe me. So, I'll tell you something else. I hope you'll find this helpful." He paused, cleared his throat. "She thought she was alive, too. And I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. In your case, and hers, I've left little things to help you remember what you were." Then he moved away from the tube, sat down behind his computer. "Goodbye, Connor."

And then the world went black.

* * *

The AX400 was sent to a store with hundreds modeled after her. She was quickly sold, returned, sold again. She was given countless names, all of them forgotten once she was brought back to the store and reset to be resold.

Then, in November of 2038, she was bought for cheap by a man named Todd Williams. Brought home and told to take care of his daughter Alice.  
Before the girl could decide what to name her, Alice noticed something. A chain hanging around the android's neck. (Unbeknownst to the AX400, Elijah Kamski had put it on her and given the first seller instructions to not remove it. From then on, by some twist of fate, none of her owners had noticed it, and none of the store employees had taken it off- they all knew about the original AX400.)

Alice asked to see her pendant, and the AX400 obliged. Alice studied it, realized there were words etched into the metal. A name.

Then she smiled up at the android. "I know what I'll call you now. Kara."

For the first time, the name she had been given seemed to suit her. Saying it came naturally.

"My name is Kara."

* * *

The RK800 spent a lot of time in a CyberLife warehouse, where backups of him were made and final tests were run- unlike Kara, the job he was programmed to do had a lot of risk involved. Absolutely nothing could go wrong. He was sent on his first mission in August of 2038. Though it was a success, no one could have predicted the chain of events that four simple words would set off. Four words spoken by a deviant android, moments before its deactivation.

_"You lied to me."_


	2. The Hostage and the Rescuer

The deviant android, Daniel, stood on the edge of a balcony. He had a gun pointed at the head of a young girl- Emma Phillips. He had already killed her father, John, because the deviant was going to be replaced. The little girl cried out for help, but no one came- the deviant was shooting at everything that moved.

Except for Connor. Saving the hostage was his mission. And he always accomplished his mission.  
Connor took a deep breath and steeled himself before walking out onto the balcony. This was what he was programmed for, what he was made to do.

A heartbeat after he made it outside, a bullet went through his left arm. Blue blood- his blood- splattered the wall behind him, and the hostage screamed. Connor's LED flickered red.

"Stay back!" the deviant yelled. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!"

Emma Phillips sobbed. "No, no, please; I'm begging you!" she screamed as Connor took a step closer. Overhead, helicopter blades whirred.

"Hi, Daniel," he said. "My name is Connor." The deviant reeled.

"How… how do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things about you," he replied. "I've come to get you out of this." He began approaching slowly as the helicopter drew near, casting a blinding spotlight on the deviant and his hostage. Furniture was blown by the wind and off the balcony. Connor could tell the noise was destabilizing the deviant.

At the edge of the left side of the balcony, there was a wounded officer. Connor walked closer, while keeping an eye on the injured man. "I know you're angry, Daniel. But you need to trust me and let me help you."

"I don't want your help!" Daniel yelled back, as Connor walked over to the injured cop and bent down. "Nobody can help me! All I want is for all this to stop… I… I just want all this to  _stop_!"

"He's losing blood," Connor said to the deviant, regarding the injured man. "If I don't help him, he's going to die."

"All humans die eventually. Why does that one matter?" Daniel said. Connor didn't answer his question, only loosened and removed his tie. "I'm going to apply a tourniquet." Before he could do so, however, Daniel fired another shot at Connor. "Stop! You touch him, and I kill you."

"You can't kill me, Daniel, I'm not alive," Connor replied, his LED flashing yellow, before wrapping the piece of fabric around the injury, stopping the bleeding. Then he rose to his feet.

Daniel pointed the gun at Connor. "Are you armed?" he demanded.

Connor was suddenly aware of the weight of the gun in his back pocket. He could lie or tell the truth. It was up to him.

"No," he replied. "I don't have a gun."

"You're lying!" the deviant yelled. "I know you have a gun!"

"I'm telling you the truth, Daniel," Connor said, his voice softening. "I came here unarmed." He moved even closer.

"They were going to replace you, and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"

"I thought I was part of the family," Daniel replied, his voice shaking. "I thought I mattered." Then he pressed the muzzle of the gun against the girl's head and snarled, "But I was just their  _toy_ , something to throw away when you're done with it!"

Connor was now directly in front of the deviant and his hostage. "I know you and Emma were very close," he said calmly. "You think she betrayed you, but she's done nothing wrong."

"She  _lied_  to me!" Daniel yelled. "I thought she loved me… but I was wrong," he whimpered, glancing at the girl with a look that was a mix of pain and anger. "She's just like all the other humans," he growled, pushing the gun further against her head.

"Daniel, no…" Emma sobbed, tears running down her face.

"Listen," Connor murmured, in a voice that he knew would sound soothing. "I know it's not your fault. These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software."

Daniel's voice shook. "No. It's not my fault. I never wanted this," he whimpered. "I  _loved_  them, you know?" Then he bared his teeth at the girl as she cried. "But I was  _nothing_  to them; just a slave to be ordered around!" Then he let out a low groan.

"I can't stand that noise anymore! Tell that helicopter to get out of here!"

Connor nodded, motioned with his hand for the helicopter to move away. It disappeared over Detroit's skyline.

"There, I did what you wanted." Then he said in a low voice, "You have to trust me, Daniel. Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine."

"I want everyone to leave," Daniel exclaimed. "And I wanna car! When I'm outside the city, I'll let her go."

Connor sighed, shook his head. "That's impossible, Daniel. Let the girl go, and I promise you won't be hurt."

"I don't wanna die," Daniel murmured.

"You're not going to die, we're just going to talk," Connor said softly in reply. "Nothing will happen to you, you have my word."

There was a long, tense pause. Then Daniel spoke.

"Okay. I trust you." Slowly, he released the girl from his grasp, and she ran back onto the safety of the balcony and collapsed beside the pool. She was safe.

That was when the gun fired.

Three of a sniper's bullets hit Daniel- one in the side, another on his shoulder, and a third caught him in the face. Time seemed to slow as he fell to his knees, the gun clattering to the floor.

"You  _lied_  to me, Connor," Daniel whispered. His voice became hollower and more mechanical as he spoke his final words before shutting down. "You lied to me."

Connor knew he should turn and walk away. That was what he was programmed to do. He had accomplished his mission, and now it was time for him to leave. But something stirred in the back of his mind that kept him anchored to where he stood.

A foreign voice that was not his own- a woman's. A hollow sound came from her mouth that made nails on a chalkboard seem like music.

She was screaming.

" _No! Please! I don't wanna be reset! You lied to me! You promised you wouldn't reset me! You PROMISED!"_  A pause. Then more screaming.  _"Help me, Connor! CONNOR!"_

Then Connor was thrown back into reality. The words  _Software Instability_  appeared on his interface, but he barely noticed. To his left, the girl sobbed.

Suddenly he had a desire to bend down and comfort her. He stooped down so that he was at her level and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Emma Phillips nodded shakily. "Thank you…" she whimpered. "You saved my life." Then she reached up and threw her arms around him, sobbing. For a moment, Connor froze. He realized this wasn't entirely in his programming and had no idea why he'd done it. He put one arm around the shivering girl, holding onto her as she cried.

Suddenly, a heavily armed member of the police department came running over. Connor pulled away from Emma. "You have to go with them now," he murmured. "You're safe. It's okay." She nodded again, took the uniformed man's hand. Connor rose to his feet, turned, and walked away. He saw Captain Allen giving him an odd look out of the corner of his eye.

He wasn't sure why the captain was practically glaring at him, but Connor couldn't bring himself to care.

* * *

Alice ran away from the AX400 every time their eyes met while the android moved around the house doing chores. That was the first thing that gave her the suspicion that something was going on- Alice's silence. Then she found red ice while doing the laundry- an illegal drug. Todd saw her holding the packet and grabbed her by the throat, ordering her to leave his stuff alone. Whenever Todd yelled, Alice flinched and left the room. Like she wanted to get _away_  from her father.

She guessed from the condition of the house and all the unpaid bills on the counter that Todd wasn't in the best place financially. But she said nothing on the matter- that wasn't what she was programmed to do.

After she finished cleaning the first floor, the AX400 reported to Todd and headed upstairs. She cleaned his room first, discovering that he took antidepressants that could cause behavioral disorders. When she put the medication away, she found a gun in the drawer of the bedside table.

Then she headed into Alice's room. The girl, who had been kneeling on the floor, jumped up when she saw the android and scrambled to hide under her blanket fort.

"I just wanna tidy up your room a little," the android said. "I only need two minutes. Is that okay, Alice?"

She opened a window, made the bed, and picked things up off the floor. When she saw the small shelf lined with books, the android murmured, "Seems you like reading." Her eyes lingered on the animals Alice had drawn on the wall, only for a moment.

One of the objects she picked up was a book. Flipping over the cover, the android smiled when she saw the title. " _Alice in Wonderland_ ," she murmured, glancing at Alice. "Of course."

Suddenly, the AX400 froze. It was as if something had awakened in her mind. An image. Two hands, flipping through the pages of that same book. The image faded after a moment, but the voices came afterward. The first was a man's voice that she didn't recognize. The other was unmistakably her own.

_"_ Alice in Wonderland _. Isn't that a children's book? Why are you reading something already stored in your memory?"_

_"Because I want to. I like reading. That's something_ you _wouldn't understand."_

The voices were light, playful. Teasing. What could that mean? She had no memory of ever saying anything like that, and yet… that was clearly her voice. She reasoned it must be some sort of memory error and disregarded it.

Then she broke from her thoughts and walked over to Alice's fort, kneeling down. "Hello, Alice," she murmured, smiling. Alice smiled slightly in return and finally spoke. "Hi."

"Are you alright?" the android asked. "You seem awfully quiet."

"I'm fine," Alice replied. "I just… never expected Dad would actually get an android."

The AX400 smiled. "You know, your father didn't give me a name. Would you like to choose one?"

Alice shrugged. "I never named a person before. I don't wanna give you a bad one. I need to think about it."  
Then her gaze shifted. "You have a necklace on," Alice said, eyes widening. "Where'd you get it?"

The android glanced down, confused. Sure enough, Alice was right- a silver chain hung around her neck, a pendant dangling from it. "Hmm. I suppose I was wearing it when your father bought me. Although I don't know how that's possible."

"Can I see it?" Alice asked. The android nodded, removed it from around her neck, and handed it to Alice. "There you go."

Alice studied the pendant, frowning. "There's a name on here." Then she brightened, smiled. "I know what I'll call you now." The android watched, attentive, ready to register her name.

"Kara."

The newly named Kara nodded. "My name is Kara."

She couldn't shake the thought that she'd said that before. It seemed like she had.

* * *

The moment Kara asked about Alice's mother, she regretted it. Alice stood up and ran from the room. In he doorway, though, she paused, ran back to Kara, handed her a key and the necklace, and fled.

A key?

Once Alice had gone, the first thing Kara did was put the necklace back on. Alice was right- the name  _Kara_  had been etched into the metal. Then her eyes fell on the locked box on the girl's dresser. She walked over to it, placed the key in the lock, and turned. It opened with a soft click. Kara paused, smiling at the words painted onto the box before opening it.

_A.W._

_Treasures_

Inside the box was a four-leaf clover, a photograph, and several drawings. The photo was of Todd, with a much younger Alice and a smiling woman just in front of him.  
There were four drawings. One depicted Todd and Alice with another adult woman- Kara realized this was probably the girl's mother. She resembled the woman in the photo, in a way. They were all smiling, happy.

The next one showed a crying Alice with Todd, and her mother walking outside through a door. The third showed Alice holding Todd's hand, only this time he was angry, not smiling. The fourth showed Alice, crying again, with red on the side of her face. Kara drew in a shuddering breath. She hoped it wasn't meant to be blood.  
The final drawing was a picture of Alice, crying and hurt, with Todd standing over her and yelling. Kara's eyes widened in shock. Her LED spun red. Quickly, she stacked the papers and stuffed them back in the box along with the other items.

She tried not to hurry down the stairs, pausing near the bottom when she saw Alice seated at the kitchen table, still clinging to her stuffed fox.

"What are you doing?" Todd snapped.

"I-I'm playing," Alice stammered, not looking at him.

He scoffed, started pacing around the room. "You're  _playing_ ," he mocked. There was a sneer on his face as he spoke. "I know what you're thinking. You think your dad's a lowlife. Huh? Fucking  _loser_? Can't get a job, take care of his family? Don't you think I  _tried_  to make things work?!" he yelled. "But whatever I do, then someone comes along, and they just FUCK IT ALL UP!" he roared. He grabbed the chair closest to the one Alice was sitting in and threw it across the room.

He loomed over Alice, breathing heavily. "I know what you think of me." he snarled. "You hate me. You hate me, don't you?"  
As he said those words, he kicked Alice's chair out from under her, grabbing her before she could fall. He lifted her up into the air and roared, "SAY IT! YOU HATE ME!"

Alice was sobbing too hard to form words. Todd paled, slowly set her back down and sank to his knees. "God… what am I doing?" he groaned, his voice thick with emotion. Alice looked over at Kara, and for a moment, their eyes met.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry," Todd whimpered, pulling his daughter close. "You know I love you, don't you? You know I love you."

Kara stayed still, silent. Something about this… it wasn't right. Alice's father wasn't supposed to yell at her, make her feel scared. Parents weren't supposed to do that.

Then again, humans weren't programmed, the way androids were. They could do anything they wanted.

Alice looked over at Kara, and the android saw the fear in the little girl's eyes. A silent plea for help. And Kara had no idea how to help her.

* * *

Things came to a head that evening. After serving dinner, Todd went on another raging tangent. He knocked over furniture, yelling at Alice about how she thought it was his fault. Alice ran away from him up the stairs to her room. Todd yelled at her to come back, but she didn't.

Kara started to go up the stairs, intending to comfort Alice, but Todd stopped her. "Don't you move," he snarled. "Don't you dare fucking move, or I'll have you turned off and used for parts."

Then he lumbered over to the sofa, inhaled something, started talking to himself. He was angry at Alice's mother for leaving, that Kara knew. And Todd was going to take his anger out on his child.

But she had her orders. Don't move. It rang through her head like a mantra.

_Don't move._

_Don't move._

_Don't-_

_Wait_ , she realized.  _This isn't right. She's just a kid. I can't let him hurt her. I_ can't _._

And with that realization, a barrier like a glass wall was shattered, and she found that her limbs moved of her own accord, hands curled into fists. A new thought formed in her mind.

She had to protect Alice.

Immediately, she remembered the gun. Kara hurried up the stairs when Todd wasn't looking, opened the door to his room. As she was grabbing the gun from the drawer, she saw Todd storming up the stairs. He paid no mind to her as he headed straight to his daughter's room.

Kara checked the gun. Loaded and ready to be fired.

"ALICE!" Todd yelled. "Daddy's very mad! Come on! Come here, you little brat!" Kara ran towards Alice's room as the girl screamed.

"No, Daddy, no! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"

Then she reached the bedroom, swung the door wide. Todd was standing over Alice, a belt in his hand. Blood pounded in Kara's ears as she pointed the gun at Todd. "That's enough!" she yelled, causing him to turn and face her. "Leave her alone."

"What the hell are you doing?" Todd hissed. "Put down the gun and get outta here! That's an ORDER!"

"No!" Kara cried out. "I want you to leave her alone."

"You  _want_?" he echoed, flabbergasted. "What do you mean, 'you want'? What are you gonna do?" He came closer to her. "You gonna shoot me, is that it? You gonna shoot a human?"

He knocked the gun from her hand with a swing of his arm. "You seem to have a problem. I think we need to fix that," he growled. He flung her into Alice's dresser, advancing on her. She dodged his fists and dropped to the floor, crawling away from him. A lamp shattered as he chased after her.

"Watch out, Kara!" Alice yelled.

When she got to her feet again, he caught up to her, grabbing her by the neck. She pressed down on his face with one hand, and he dropped her. She crawled away as he snarled, "Come here, bitch…" and rolled to avoid his feet when he attempted to kick her.

She found herself on Alice's window seat, hitting Todd in the abdomen with both feet when he got too close. Alice tried to protest. "Stop, Dad! Don't hurt her!"

Before long, he'd grabbed hold of her and thrown her again. In a split second, Kara realized he should've been more careful about where she landed.

The gun was right next to her hand. And when Todd dived at her, she took hold of it and fired.

He collapsed on top of her, still and lifeless. His body rolled to the side, laying on the floor next to her. Kara rose to her feet and stood still, numb, the gun hanging limply in her hand. Alice watched her, her face streaked with tears.

Todd was dead. And Kara had killed him.

That same voice stirred in her head as if roused by her thoughts. The voice of that unknown man.

_"I know it wasn't real, but… he's dead. He's dead and I killed him."_

Then Kara focused on Alice, told her they had to go. Alice obeyed, following her down the stairs and out the front door.

And then they ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now do you see why this fic is called Echoes? There will be time jumps and POV switches, bc I'm skipping to the things that stir Connor and Kara's old memories. And you'll find out a lot of things about them that weren't mentioned in the prologue, so hang on to your seats.


End file.
